Friday, February 14, 2014

A REVIEW OF ORIGINAL TISSUE FOSSILS AND THEIR AGE IMPLICATIONS

by
Brian Thomas, M.S.

Abstract

The discovery and verification of original soft
tissue fossils has caused perhaps the most significant paleontological
excitement in recent times. Neither evolutionary nor creationary
researchers anticipated these phenomena. Published discoveries of
original soft tissues including some of their constituent biochemicals,
like collagen, elastin, osteocalcin, hemoglobin decay products, melanin,
chitin and chitin-associated protein from fossil pockets around the
world are reviewed. Decay rates and longevity studies of some
biochemicals estimate an outside age limit for certain original soft
tissue remains, and by extension for the geologic strata associated with
their fossils. Secular paleontology struggles to interpret
organically-derived fossil material with suggestions that various modes
of taphonomy altered or sequestered the original organics into
recalcitrant products. Investigations and reports of soft tissue fossil
finds are cautioned to avoid overstating the case for biblical creation,
but the data currently available are more consistent with an earth
history spanning thousands, not millions, of years.